Reflecting the heightened global interest in Korean literature, a record number of quality entries were submitted to the 48th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards this year.

Fiction Grand Prize winner Sarah Lyo for her translation of Park Sol-moe's "Then What Do We Sing," Poetry Grand Prize winner Charse Yun for his translation of Ham Min-bok's poems and Fiction Commendation Award winning team of Olan Munson and Oh Eun-kyung for their translation of Choi Eun-young's "Xin chao Xin chao" were recognized at an awards ceremony at Lotte Hotel Seoul, Friday.

Hosted by The Korea Times and sponsored by KB Financial Group, the awards are the oldest of their kind in Korea, aiming to promote translation of Korean literature.

The Korea Times President Lee Chang-sup said the awards were established in 1970 to lay the groundwork for promotion of Korean literature internationally and ultimately to produce a Nobel literature laureate from Korea.

"We aim to nurture young translators and become a gateway for them to introduce Korean literature overseas," Lee said at the ceremony.

Lee said he was surprised to see works of young writers in their 30s being translated into English. "They are in their 30s and the stories are set in exotic backgrounds such as Los Angeles or East Germany, but Korean values are inherent in them. This new generation of authors is globalized and their works are ready to be introduced to the world."

KB Financial Group Senior Managing Director Shin Hong-seob appreciated the awards' long history and their contribution to helping Korean literature overcome language barriers.

"KB Financial Group sponsors many athletes and makes social contributions. As part of the efforts, we are happy to support translators who can make Korean literature take flight to another level. I hope more Korean literary works get noticed around the world and win the Nobel Prize in Literature someday," Shin said.

Judges ― Sogang University emeritus professor Brother Anthony, Ewha Womans University professor Jung Ha-yun and Seoul National University professor Min Eun-kyung ― said they were pleased to evaluate this year's translations as the entries were of high standard.

"Previously, there were gaps between grasping Korean and English in translating. However, overall quality improved this year and most of the entries were worth reading in English," Jung said. "As we meet the winners, we can see a new generation of translators as well as writers is emerging. These young translators select new works and want to make foreign readers approach Korean contemporary literature.

Fiction grand prize winner Lyo graduated from the University of Oxford last year and now studies at the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea).

Poetry grand prize winner Yun is a lecturer at the Department of Practical English at Korea National Open University (KNOU) and Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation at Ewha Womans University.

Fiction commendation award winner Oh quit her job to become a professional translator and currently attends the LTI Korea with her partner Munson.

"The writer is about the same age as me and I could relate to the story. When we think of Korean literature, the first thing coming across the mind is usually the novels we read while studying for the state-administered college entrance exam. However, I was fascinated by the works of these young contemporary novelists, whose works are different from the literature under the Japanese colonial era or the Korean War, and wanted to share them with foreign friends," Oh said.

Munson, an American whose mother is Korean, used some Korean at home when she grew up, but she began learning the Korean language professionally only last year.

"When Oh recommended Choi Eun-young's collection of short stories ‘Shoko's Smile,' I liked Xin Chao, Xin Chao among the featured works because it is contemporary yet encompasses Korean cultural and historical values," Munson said.